On A Pedestal

I take a class on Thursday night’s and someone said something that stuck out to me.  They said it like it wasn’t a quote, but I feel like it is something I’ve heard before so I’m going with the assumption that perhaps they just had a very similar sentiment to whatever other famous line I am thinking of.  Anyway, the thing they said was, “Stop putting others on a pedestal; instead put yourself on a pedestal and then become the best self you can be.”  For some reason that phrase really resonated with me.  I have been thinking about it ever since and I feel like it is so important and definitely something I can work on.  The context was about missionary work.  How in the mission we tend to look towards our District Leaders, or the Zone Leaders, or the Assistants, or even sometimes our companions and we think “Wow, they have got it all figured out.  Life is so easy and good for them.  I wish I could be just like them someday.”  But that is not the case.  It really never is the case.  Not on the mission and definitely not in life.  No one has it all figured out and no one has an easy time in this life.  Sometimes someone may go through an easier time than others, but that will never remain for too long because when we are comfortable we can’t (or won’t) grow and then we aren’t becoming more like God.

I mean, if you think about, everyone has their favorite sin, that thing that they secretly like to commit or omit that prevents them from growing the way the Lord intends.  And that scares people – that our heroes may not be as magnificent as we’d like to think, but in my opinion I think it takes a greater hero to be aware of their shortcomings and consciously work towards eliminating them.  I often think about Nephi who shortly after his father died gives us those really beautiful verses in 2 Nephi 4:17-35 wherein he says that his soul groaned because of the temptations and sins that so easily beset him.  That makes me think of Moses who lost his temper and therein lost the right to enter the Promised Land.  If the prophet on the earth still has flaws and shortcomings who am I to even pretend that I don’t?  Granted, you don’t run around telling everyone the details of your shortcomings, but to pretend that they don’t exist sounds like a huge act of pride to me.

I don’t know if that makes sense or even interests you, but that’s what I’ve been thinking about lately. 

- Drew